Press Releases

May 15, 1997
Thousands of Miles from Family, Romanian Student Graduates With Honors

Contact: Jane Finalborgo, Joe Dionisio
(516) 287 8313
Fax: (516) 283 4081

Southampton, NY -- Stelian Laurentiv Dragan, who on May 18 graduates summa cum laude with a 3.9 GPA from Southampton Graduate Campus of Long Island University, has not seen his parents in four years, and does not know when he ever can return to Bucharest, Romania to see them.

At age 25, Dragan is no ordinary student. He has overcome obstacles few of his peers can imagine -- a testament to pursuing his dream of an American education.

In 1995, he told his mother Ioana, his father, Constantin, and sister Laura, that his single-entry Visa status likely means he cannot return to the United States once he leaves.

One month into college in 1994, an employer reneged on sponsoring his education, and every semester became a struggle for financial survival. For a non-citizen like Dragan, this meant a constant threat of deportation to Romania, and mandatory military service or a job in a factory.

"I really believed Southampton Graduate Campus was the opportunity of my life," said Dragan. "I knew if I quit I would always regret it."

Many in the College community rallied to support him, including Professors Brian Abbott and Elizabeth Granitz. "His determination has set a great example for his fellow students," said Provost Tim Bishop, who helped arrange financial assistance.

So many others helped, Dragan can't name them all. His soccer teammates housed him when his rental ended abruptly. He found jobs through the Greek Orthodox Church in Southampton. He described his plight in a letter to a local newspaper. He sought help from the Romanian community in Queens. He simply would not give up.

"Sometimes I can be annoying that way," he said with a smile. "When people know you really want to work, and you aren't pitying yourself, they will help you."

Since arriving in the U.S. in 1994, he has held two jobs, worked a Co-op Education position, juggled games and practices for the College's championship soccer team, all while going to school full-time. He has dealt with eviction, his father's stroke, an auto accident, and being thousands of miles from his girlfriend in Ireland and his family in Bucharest.

"When I told my mom I couldn't come home, we were both crying," said Dragan, whose 8-year collegiate journey began as a Mechanical Engineering student at Bucharest's Polytechnic University. "I was so distracted, I got into an accident and totaled my car. I didn't want to tell my parents and get them more upset."

"Sometimes when my friends are laughing, I want to smile too, but I can't," said Dragan, a Business Administration major. "The family thing is too hard. I am trying to be more Americanized, more easygoing, but I never get time to relax. I've learned to cope with it."

In 1991, a year after the Iron Curtain had fallen, he and a friend, pursuing "a dream to see the Western World," were arrested after attempting to trespass from Hungary to Austria. They went two days without food, but eventually were fed by Austrian police who deposited them at the Hungarian border.

At the College's Athletic Awards Ceremony last week, he won the Scholar Athlete Award, and received a huge ovation from his fellow athletes. Said Dragan: "You would never get that reaction at Polytechnic. That's one thing I really like about Southampton Graduate Campus. They entice you to do well, and they reward you. It's a motivator."

Dragan's soccer coach, who guided Southampton Graduate Campus to the 1995 ECAC Division II championship, said the midfielder inspired his teammates. "Despite all the responsibilities he had, he rarely missed a practice and he always gave a 100-percent effort," said Ed Goodhines, who also is Associate Athletic Director. "Whenever I think about all the problems he's faced, I get choked up."

"Persistence is the most important thing," said Dragan, who learned English by taking private lessons with money he earned selling newspapers in a Romanian supermarket. "I got that from my mom. She won't take no for an answer."

Dragan has held a myriad of jobs, working for the Romanian-American Management Association, an Eastern Europe Trading Market, working in construction, as a waiter, and as a client associate at Long Island Savings Bank in Southampton, where he also did a co-op.

Often, he can't fathom that his American counterparts don't seem to appreciate all they have.

"Kids here take a lot for granted," says Dragan, who hopes to study Finance at graduate school at New York University. "They have to realize that America is the place where dreams come true. They have so much at their disposal here, they should just go out and grab it."